Saturday 30 August 2014

Old Skin - Consume


The old adage "Music is Art, Art is Music" seems lost on a lot of people nowadays, so thank go for extreme metal and hardcore. While the mainstream labels, radio stations and the like are trying to ram more RnB and dance down our throats, DIY bands and labels are providing ever more creative and lust-worthy releases. One fine example of the latter is this two-track release from Mancunian heavy band Old Skin.

Released at the of May, after weeks/months of mysterious hints on social media, Consume was made available to download and purchase digitally or on limited CD between the 26th of May and the 1st of June, before being taken down for good. The CD was limited to 100 and came wrapped in a giant patch and bound in string. This was the first output from Old Skin since their debut 7" "Maere" in late 2013 and marked a year of existence for this shadowy four-piece. It was recorded and mixed at No Studio (Iced Out, Esoteric Youth) and was mastered by Brad at Audiosiege (Cholera, Integrity).

Tracklisting:-

1. Swordcharmer
2. Snakeswallower

Old Skin crafted hefty, angry debut in Maere and Consume takes the dark-hardcore tinged Manchester sound of brethren like Esoteric Youth and builds on it with more metallic charm. Swordcharmer is a mix of Holy Terror mid-paced eeriness and off-kilter grind, with added rock n roll flair.


It’s great to hear a band carving out their own unique sound/identity so early on into their tenure, but as the opening riffs of Snakeswallower ring out, that’s exactly was Old Skin have done. There’s riffs a plenty and not a moment of wariness. It was a confident move by Old Skin to release such a limited score in the first place, but as Consume shows, it paid off in spades.

Old Skin Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wehaveoldskin

Friday 29 August 2014

Hexer - Hexer LP


The last couple of weeks have been busy, but not the right kind of busy, which makes the time when I can listen to music all the better. Hopefully things will change soon, as I've got so much to catch up on. Whether it be stuff sent to me via e-mail, to the records/tapes I've got recently.  My record player is in need of a serious workout too.

Before that though, I thought I'd dive into another black metal record. Hexer released their self-titled compilation LP (featuring the tracks off their cassette demos I and II) in 2013 via Gilead Media. Hexer began as the solo project of bassist Phlegethon (previously of US black metal bands One Master and Nachzehrer), before he was joined by guitarist and drum programmer Lazarus (of Mutilation Rites!) and vocalist Ansgar (of the awesomely titled Unholy Goatfucker).

Tracklisting:-

1. I:I
2. I:II
3. I:III
4. II:I
5. II:II
6. II:III

Starting at the beginning with the opening track from Cassette I, you’re immediately greeted by true, raw black metal. These songs were taken directly from the cassette’s themselves and have been remastered for this LP. The programmed drums provide an intense backing track, especially the cymbals while the bass guitar rumbles deep within. The vocals sit deep in the mix too and are predominantly rasping growls. The guitar provides menacing melody to proceedings. This is the sound a band starting their life and bludgeoning their way into people’s consciousness. The US seems to have the innate ability of throwing blasting black metal at you when you least expect it. 

As II opens up, you realise that the opener was a mere warm up. If you listen beyond the obvious, you’ll notice swirling melodic tones in the background. It conjures up some hellish visions as it careens through seven-minutes of of apocalyptic-level blackness. To say it’s rousing would be both an understatement and a misjustice.The programmed drums on III give it an industrial feel during the intro. Those vocals form Ansgar have to be the harshest I’ve heard in a long long time and to be honest, the music wouldn’t be right without them. 

The second half of this LP (featuring the three tracks from Cassette II) sounds more ambient as soon as I starts. Hexer lose none of their cold harshness though and at times are trance-like. The ambient diminishes at times, due to the pure chaos that is generated by Hexer’s deep, black tones and their song-structures, which aren’t geared toward anything other than fast and loud. I is the most majestic song on this record and the one will live longest in the memory.

The pure, unholy blasting on II takes you to a whole new place, devoid of life and real feeling. By now you’re numb to everything and with Hexer sitting on your right shoulder, you’re ready to give yourself away to the dark forces currently spinning in your head. The guitar sound on II might as well be the horn sounded by the four horsemen such is it’s resonance. 

The final hedonistic thrashing of III will no doubt finish weaker people off. It harks back to the opening track of the first cassette, but with added layers of guitar that sound akin to a fully laden orchestra at times. In essence, this whole LP is utterly insane. If you like black metal raw and honest, you’ve got yourselves a keeper. If you are venturing into black metal for the first, you’ll find plenty to like as well. It’s strangely infectious and I don’t know how I’m going to get to sleep tonight now with those riffs buzzing through my brain.

You can stream the full compilation here:-




It's also available there as a name-your-price download. 

Physical LPs can be grabbed from Gilead Media here - http://www.gileadmedia.net/store/.

Hexer Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/HEXER
Gilead Media Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/gileadmedia

Monday 25 August 2014

Razormaze - Annihilatia


There are two camps when it comes to modern day thrash metal. On the one hand there are those who hate it and on the other there are those who enjoy it, even it sometimes it isn't up to the same level as the big four. I personally don't mind it at all, in fact I remember being excited to see bands like Evile and Municipal Waste live in small venues before they became more popular.

Recently, I've been checking out more thrash and heavy metal that I've missed. It's the bedrock of heavy music for me and was a sub-genre that helped me to appreciate loads of bands. This is the first thrash record I've featured for a while, so what better way to address that than with Boston, MA thrashers Razormaze and their 2013 full-length Annihilatia. They began in 2008 and released two demos before their debut full-length followed in 2009. After a four year gap that was partially plugged by an EP in 2010, Annihilatia was released in 2013 via Slaney Records.

Tracklisting:-

1. Something Like A War
2. The Slowest Death
3. Worshipping The Void
4. Sink Below
5. Demagogue
6. Electric Deception
7. Terminal Escape
8. Without Words

The first thing that hit as I pressed play on Annihilatia was the strength of the musicianship that Razormaze possess. The long intro of Something Like A War coupled with the impressive solo, sealed the deal for me early doors. This is fast and melodic thrash with semi-screamed vocals and it sounds extremely focused. The Slowest Death contains more urgency and carries Razormaze’s momentum forward. It’s impossible not to headband to this! It’s got quite an understated quality about it and it’s not too over the top or brash, which is a good thing. That solo’s a bit good too.

Worshipping The Void features some great lead-work and dual-guitar interplay, that lean towards speed-metal (I know some would say that thrash and speed metal are the same, but what the heck!). Razormaze are extremely powerful in their musical delivery and really benefit from the strong production on Annihilatia. Sink Below is a prime example of this, with the vocals sounding more imposing and the overall rhythm section sounding really tight. 

Demagogue starts the second half of Annihilatia in a slightly different direction. With different time-signatures and clever musical structures used, they sound as though they have really settled into the album at this point and this song, while not being all-out in the tempo department, is probably my standout track. They explore their more progressive side again with Electric Deception, which nearly reaches seven-minutes and encompasses all of the band’s elements and ideas to produce a really well-rounded thrash attack. This song really does take things to another level, especially thanks to the soaring melody in it’s solo.

I’m not the most musically gifted writer, so sorry for the lack of “terms”. What I can say though (and no apologies for repeating myself), is that Razormaze are immense and I’m annoyed that it’s taken me so long to realise this. Terminal Escape is an absolute beast of a song and I’ve been headbanging throughout the whole thing. I don’t want this album to end, but alas it has to. Still, Without Words ain’t a bad ending I suppose. If you’re up for something fun and musically spellbinding, then I implore you to check out Razormaze. Annihilatia demands many repeated listens and I’d easily sit these guys next to Noisem as my favourite thrash bands.

You can stream and download Annihilatia here:-




You can buy physical CD copies directly from Razormaze here - http://razormaze.bigcartel.com or from Slaney Records here - http://www.slaneyrecords.com/webstore/

Razormaze Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/razormaze
Slaney Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Slaney-Records

Mutilation Process - Flesh Eaters EP


Musicians by nature are very productive people. I mean, take Rogga Johansson as an example. He's a member of or has been a member of so many bands including Ribspreader, Putrevore, Demiurg and Swarming (which also featured Lasse Pyykko of Hooded Menace fame). That example leads me onto Mutilation Process quite nicely, as this new band features Markus Makkonen (Hooded Menace) alongside Cris Pervertor of Italian Black metallers Satanika/Massemord. With the line-up completed by Satanika drummer Aeternus, Mutilation Process joined the Horror Pain Gore Death Productions roster, with whom they are due to release their debut album in 2015. As a precursor, they've recently released this digital two-track EP.

Tracklist:-

1. Flesh Eaters
2. Possessed By The Worms Of Satan

Flesh Eaters starts with a mid-paced sludgy intro, before the death-thrash takes over. The riffs buzz in the middle of the mix while the vocals are made up of rasping, low screams. This is definitely not your modern, polished death metal and it sounds all the better for it. The raw sound harks back to death’s early days.

Possessed By The Worms Of Satan is more mid-paced still and the guitar sound is thicker. It’s not got the initial impact of the title-track and it edges closer to four-minutes, but it does feature some subtly clever lead-work, which adds thoughtful melody to the song.

Flesh Eaters is a solid intro to Mutilation Process and it manages to build excitement for the impending debut album in 2015. If you like old-school death metal, then you can’t go wrong with Mutilation Process.

Stream and buy Flesh Eaters digitally here:-


href="https://www.facebook.com/mutilationprocess666?fref=ts">https://www.facebook.com/mutilationprocess666

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/horrorpaingoredeath

Friday 22 August 2014

Wizard Fight - The Beast Lives Demo Tape


Space is a premium it seems and my room at home can't take many more records/tapes. I'm looming to move out, but am not looking forward to shifting my collection. Luckily tapes don't take up a lot room, whereas 350 records and over 500 CD's do!

The orange tape that contains the Wizard Fight demo is encased in Headless Guru's signature card sleeve. I love these sleeves, which are made by ACDSleeve in the UK. Wizard Fight are a three-piece sludge band from Hastings and fit right in on the label alongside War Wolf and Sea Bastard. Their debut demo was released in February.

Tracklist:-

1. The Devil Rides
2. Wizard Of Black
3. Thine Enemies

Wizard Fight’s demo features some ace live-recorded sludge. It’s rough around the edges, but nobody wants a super-slick sludge band anyway. The Devil Rides is slow but the riffs provide enough melody and bass-groove to draw you in. There’s blues is them there solos too!

Wizard Of Black transports me back to the lethargic, semi-hungover stupor I was in this morning. I went to see Swinelord and Trudger in Leeds last night and had fun, until I slipped on the wet stairs and feel down. As such, I was aching like a bastard this morning! Back to the song itself, which starts off slow and then settles into a great mid-paced sludge track with elements of stoner hidden within it.

The bass sound that rumbles away during Thine Enemies is earth-shatteringly low. For a sludge band, Wizard Fight don’t prat about with noodling versus or lacklustre psych sections. They just make glorious noise. That’s how it bloody should be. 

You can listen to the whole thing here:-




You can get the demo as a name-you-price download from Headless Guru Records above or directly from Wizard Fight themselves, form whom you can also buy tape and cdr copies. Do it!

Wizard Fight Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Wizardfightuk
Headless Guru Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HeadlessGuruRecords

Monday 18 August 2014

Gods Of Chaos - March Into Perdition


The exhausting march to feature as many unsigned band as I can carries on. This time, it's the turn of Zabreb noise makers Gods Of Chaos. They're a pretty unclassifiable band and that's why I've chosen to review their 2012 release - March Into Perdition.

I don't think Gods Of Chaos have received too much coverage amongst blogs and mags, though they did have a song on the 2nd/3rd volume of the Monomaniac LP series, which was released by Blastbeat Mailmurder from Greece. That label is run by Panos Agoros of Greek band Dephosphorus, so the Monomaniac series is pretty reliable!

Tracklist:-

1. Twitching Sours
2. A Swarm Of Bats In A Raging Hailstorm
3. Nuclear Phantom Warhowl
4. The Drug Of Joy
5. Black Alert/Lack Of Earth
6. Dealers Of Nadir
7. Crystalized Telekinetic Mindfuck
8. Crush The Skulls Of All Fucking Posers
9. Conquer All!!!
10. Grinning With An Errection At The Gallows
11. Skullfucking Despair

Sometimes, It’s good to approach a band with no prior knowledge or genre-related expectation. It certainly pays with Gods Of Chaos. March Into Perdition’s opener Twitching Sours is pretty mental by all accounts. It’s a mix of off-kilter grind and spaced-out rock n roll influenced noise. It’s fast and off-kilter. A Swarm Of Bats… is a mix of the same, but also features very brief sludge passages. There is melody hidden below the noise and feedback. Their penchant for humour filled song-titles like Nuclear Phantom Warhowl, proves that they don’t take themselves too seriously as do the expletive that adorn their Bandcamp and Facebook pages. The song itself is expands further on their craziness. 
The Drug Of Joy could be explaining the emotion or just whatever drug Gods Of Chaos are infusing with their instrumentation and song-structures, as it’s a bit of a mind-melt trying to follow it. It’s good to give your brain a workout though! The flourishes of noise that close out their songs, would be great were it not for the pauses between them, but that’s only a minor complaint from me. Black Alert/Lack Of Earth could be the bastard child of psychedelic screamo, especially where the guitars are concerned. It’s two and a half minutes of pure lunacy. 

March Into Perdition isn’t all fast though. Gods Of Chaos manage to fit in some mid-paced songs like Dealers Of Nadir, which stretches passed the four-minute mark. Okay, so it’s only really mid-paced at the start, as it’s not long before they break out into more grinding chaos. It’s a mighty song full of great riffs, blastbeats and tortured screams. There are more tripped-out textures during Crystalized Telekinetic Mindfuck. Mind you, the clues in the title! Gods Of Chaos show their disdain for false fans of metal in Crush The Skulls Of All Fucking Posers, which is short and snappy. Conquer All!!! reminds you of old-school hardcore with the scuzzy guitar.  Grinning With An Errection At The Gallows has a much thicker guitar-sound than previous songs. It’s build up is much more metal-orientated. That’s where it ends though, as the following two-minutes are pretty hard to call. It’s stop/start grind-laden noise. It all closes with the Skullfucking Despair, which is close to what you’ll be feeling if you’ve been listening to this album, alone in a darkened room. I mean that statement is the best possible way though, because as the intro’s tempo gets slower and slower, you’ll have already submitted to this album’s insanity/genius. It’s a test from start too finish, but like the rest of the album, it’s worth every skull-jarring second. Apparently the band don't like it anymore, but don't let that put you off!

You can stream March Into Perdition (as well as download the album opener Twitching Sours, for free) below:-




The full album is available to download for 5 Euros.

Gods Of Chaos Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/godsofchaos

Saturday 16 August 2014

Engorgement - Excruciating Intestinal Lacerations


I'm done with the day's football related TV. It's all well and good getting excited about the start of the Premier League season but it doesn't half lead to procrastination. That's probably why I've elected to review this happy bunch! Engorgement are from around the Hampshire/Suffolk area in Southern England and have been playing brutal, violence filled death metal since 2009. Excruciating Intestinal Lacerations was released in 2012 via US death-metal label Comatose Music, which was also the bands debut release.

Tracklist:-

1. Ejaculation Over Defiled Human Remains
2. Paraplegic Punch Bag
3. Cranial Devourment
4. Fornicating The Disfigured
5. Putrefying Colonic Irrigation
6. Excruciating Intestinal Lacerations
7. Full Body Prolapse

People who listen to brutal death will know that while the vocals don’t lend themselves too well to recorded formats, they manage to sound brilliant in a live setting alongside the slam that backs them up. I’ve certainly come to appreciate live death metal a lot more over the past few months. Engorgement are pretty damn heavy and while the aforementioned vocals sit high in the mix on Excruciating Intestinal Lacerations, they are backed up by some fast as hell bass-heavy grooves and beatdowns. 

The initial barrage of Ejaculation Over Defiled Human Remains and Paraplegic Punch Bag is pretty intense, with the latter giving plenty of cavernous guitar-led breakdowns. Cranial Devourment shows off Engorgement’s technical flair with load of time-signature changes and different guitar textures. When they slow down to a brief crawl mid-way through the song, they sound pretty epic!

Fornicating The Disfigured has the advantage of being both fast and long. I say it’s an advantage because by this point, you’ll be slamming down like nobodies business. Even the lack of obvious melody doesn’t hurt the record. I love the rhythms that kick off Putrefying Colonic Irrigation (sick title!). This is a brief number that shows a focused side to Engorgement’s song writing. It fits well after the five+ minutes of Fornicating…

The title-track seems to ratchet the pace up massively and is as heavy as this album gets. Album closer Full Body Prolapse has more variation in it, thanks to changing time-signatures and riffs. This album is intense whichever way you look at it, from the artwork to the musicianship, but props to Engorgement for keeping it focused. Too many bands elect for long albums, but Excruciating Intestinal Lacerations seven tracks will get spun on repeat.

There is no bandcamp page or stream for the band or label, but the full album is streaming on Youtube below:-



Someone needs to get this up on bandcamp for others too enjoy. I'll do it if needs be (with permission from the band and label of course!).

You can pick up CD copies from the band here - http://www.engorgement.bigcartel.com and from Comatose Music (if you're in the US) here - http://www.comatosemusic.com/store.

Engorgement Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Engorgement
Comatose Music Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Comatosemusiclabel

Wednesday 13 August 2014

Of Spire & Throne - Toll Of The Wound


I think I last featured Of Spire & Throne on here when I did a write-up on the Edinburgh scene. That was a while ago now and it's great to see that they're getting more exposure and working with Broken Limbs Productions is doing them no harm at all. It's been two years since they released their last EP Vagary, though they did release a split tape with 2013 UK touring partners Ortega. Toll Of The Wound has been released across multiple formats, including tape, CD and vinyl.

Tracklist:-

1. Legacy
2. Tower Of Glass
3. Cascading Shard

Imposing opener Legacy feels like it’s about to burst a proverbial blood-vessel, as the lone-guitar and drum intro heralds in the collective whole that is Of Spire & Throne. Deep growls coupled with low-slung instrumentation make their brand of doom feel like it’s already at the depths of despair. Just like the fog that enveloped Edinburgh earlier in the year and rendered visibility all but useless, Of Spire & Throne’s only aim is to paralyse you.

On Tower Of Glass, the organic production draws you further in. The drums sound as though they are being played right next to you and the relative quiet in-between the feedback provides glimpses of peaceful calm. A word of warning for the uninitiated though; this is as slow as doom is likely to get and  in being so, needs time to be invested in it from the listener. You can’t just tune and out when you want to. The instrumental entirety of the song should be heard in one full sitting, as should the whole EP.

Of Spire & Throne leave the longest tome till last. Cascading Shard doesn’t feature quite the same, minimal atmosphere as Tower Of Glass but still holds enough menace to keep you transfixed. It sees a return of those morose screams, that fade in and out amongst the towering riffs. The bass-only passage just passed the nine-minute mark is ideal as the calm-before-the-storm, as no sooner have you positioned yourself for a long crawl to the end, you get shaken back to life by more dissonance. It’s end Toll Of The Wound in the heaviest way possible.

In summary, Toll Of The Wound is crafted by human beings that believe that we're already at the apocalypse and yet it effects you in a way that doesn't seem possible. It provides a turning point that actually improves your outlook. From a doom record, that is pretty hard to do. In my opinion, that's what makes it special.

You can stream it here:-



You can buy it digitally as well as on tape, CD and vinyl directly from Of Spire & Throne's bandcamp page above.

If you're in the US and Canada, you pick it up from Broken Limbs Recordings here - http://brokenlimbsrecordings.com/shop/.

Of Spire & Throne Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ofspireandthrone
Broken Limbs Recordings Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brokenlimbs

Saturday 9 August 2014

Lockersludge - Drawing Lessons


I went to sleep last night thinking about vinyl and woke up thinking about it. Records and music are consuming my life and don't even get me started on tapes and CDs. My room is now starting to resemble one of those top-to-bottom record shops you get in most seaside towns.

That little paragraph leads me nicely onto this review. Devon sludge three-piece Lockersludge sent me their latest mini-album Drawing Lessons on CD a while ago and after already reviewing their previous release, Falling On Our Faces, I was excited to hear how they've progressed with their new line-up and new found live experience. Lockersludge are another band who are doing things right in my eyes. They're unsigned yet they've self-released all three of their records, while also managing to get plenty of exposure at both gigs and on the radio, following Drawing Lessons release.

Tracklist:-

1. Burden Of Pain
2. Guilt, Anger And Aggression
3, Drawing Lessons
4. The Beard Of Doom
5. Burn In Hell (CD only bonus track)

Lockersludge instantly slam into Drawing Lessons, with album opener Burden Of Pain. The live recording provides and earthly, organic sound. There’s plenty of riffs from Andy Lockyer, grooving bass from Brew and Mark Lockyer’s vocal/drum combo provide plenty of muscle. They’ve still got the sludge/hardcore sound that previous album Falling On Our Faces introduced me to.

There seems to be less of the bands initial sludge/doom influence on Drawing Lessons. Guilt, Anger And Aggression is mid-paced and features clean vocals, which were only really hinted at in the album’s opener.  The title track has some great grad-metal riffs to start with. It’s simple song-structure and Lockersludge’s uncomplicated instrumentation make it sound pretty heavy! 

Any record with a song called The Beard Of Doom, is definitely worthy of your attention. The only downside for me is that there isn’t any doom present in the song. Lockersludge play to their hardcore/sludge strengths and favour the addition of some cool heavy-metal flourishes, but some really slow and mournful doom passages would have really been the icing on the cake.

Lockersludge have done something really cool with this release. Instead of releasing the bonus-track and a download only one, they’ve flipped it on it’s head and added to the CD release. If that doesn’t prompt more people to buy the physical version of this release, then clearly there’s something wrong with UK music fans! Musically, Burn In Hell features some great riffs and it’s Lockersludge’s homage to the occult. Don’t worry though, it’s also really catchy, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise (but does for some reason!).

There three dudes are in pretty privileged position. They are able to play in a band and make music that they are extremely passionate about and they have the bonus of being able to bring it a wider audience, whether it be via their CD and digital releases or by playing live. That may seem like a pretty obvious statement but when you think about it, we’d all like to be in that position. Lockersludge are writing music they want to hear and having fun while doing it. Hats of too them!

You can stream Drawing Lessons (minus the bonus track) here:-




You can purchase Drawing Lessons as either a name-your-price download or on CD from the band's bandcamp page above.

Lockersludge Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Lockersludge

Sunday 3 August 2014

Dropdead/Ruidosa Inmundicia - Split 7"


It's Sunday evening and the daily grind begins again tomorrow (for those of us lucky enough to work 9-5's), for everyone else it probably never ended. To get myself in the right frame of mind for the week ahead, I plucked this out of my electronic review pile. A split from US political hardcore mainstay's Dropdead. This isn't the first split they've contributed to recently, having released one with Converge, one with Systematic Death and even more recently one with Brainoil. This one features awesome Austrian punks Ruidosa Inmundicia and it was released in 2013 via Providence, US based label/record store Armageddon (who have also released the Systematic Death one).

Tracklist:-

1. Dropdead - A Fall Of Empires
2. Dropdead - Last Breath
3. Ruidosa Inmundicia - Donde Esta La Solucion
4. Ruidosa Inmundicia - Asco
5. Ruidosa Inmundicia - Blanco Y Negro

This split features five songs in as many minutes. Dropdead’s A Fall Of Empires and Last Breath are both to-the-point. Featuring fast drumming, clear hardcore riffs and crazed vocals. The production job is rad too and really makes the songs sound loud and mean. There are some thrash elements within their songs, but this is still killer old-school hardcore at it’s best.

Ruidosa Inmundicia being with Donde Esta La Solucion, which features Spanish lyrics and female/male mixed vocals. They provide the perfect partners for Dropdead, as both bands share the same punk mentality. Asco and Blanco Y Negro both flash past in less than a minute. Asco features some great fist-in-the-air riffs and Blanco Y Negro does not let up in the pace department. When they do slow to a slight groove, they still sound mighty.

You can stream Dropdead's tracks via their bandcamp page here:-




The 7" can be purchased from Armageddon Label here - http://www.armageddonshop.com/search

Dropdead Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dropdead
Ruidosa Inmundicia Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ruidosa-Inmundicia
Armageddon Label Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Armageddon-Shop

Saturday 2 August 2014

Nonsun - Sun Blind Me


Things have been a little quite this last week, mainly due to suffering from post holiday blues and having to get back into the swing of work. You know how it is! It's not a surprise then that I'm now writing about a drone/doom/sludge band either. Nonsun are from Lviv in the Ukraine. This duo was founded in 2011, but waited until 2012 to release their debut EP Good Old Evil. Sun Blind Me was released on tape via Dutch label Breathe Plastic, with Danish label Drowning hosting a digital download version too. At this, point I would just like to spare a thought for the people who have been caught up in the unrest in the Ukraine and hope that they stay safe.

Tracklist:-

1. Rain Have Mercy
2. Forgotten Is What Never Was
3. Alphomega (Part 1: Sunlit Darkness)
4. Alphomega (Part 2: Upward Brightness)

Sun Blind Me begins with a quiet wave of drone, at the beginning of Rain Have Mercy. It lasts about two-minutes before Nonsun straddle into bass heavy doom. It’s heavy and sometimes off-kilter, with the vocals of Goatooth used sparingly. Things get interesting when the lead guitar kicks in, adding a new dimension to Nonsun’s sound. Nowadays, initial impressions are everything when it comes to music but underneath the layers of drone and doom, Nonsun provide some subtle moments of brilliance. I hope the rest of Sun Blind Me goes the same way.

Forgotten Is What Never Was seems mournfully low to begin with. The bass provides the majority of the song’s droning textures while the guitar and organ provide small flashes of light. Overall it’s eleven-minutes plus of instrumental pain and suffering, set to hauntingly heavy music. As with Rain Have Mercy, the vocals don’t feature until past the half-way point in the song and they’re not overused when they do.

Deafening, piercing feedback is the order of the day on Alphomega Part 1, at least during the intro anyway. The volume seems to rise as the different textures of noise are added and it almost sounds metallic at times. The meandering noise that features here is the perfect accompaniment to the rolling black clouds outside my window. Alphomega Part 1 lurches directly into Part 2, as if they were one song. It follows exactly the same path. After further glimpses of lead guitar, it’s over in the same way it started. 

Doom and it’s related sub-genres really seem to be taking over at the moment. Nonsun sit at the slower end of the spectrum (if that’s possible) but they make some great music and deserved to be heard by more people.

Stream/download Sun Blind Me here:-




You can also download in from Drowning here - http://drowning.cc/drone-doom-downloads/nonsun-sun-blind-me/

Tapes can be purchased from Breathe Plastic here - http://breatheplastic.bandcamp.com/merch.

Nonsun Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NonsunDoom
Breathe Plastic Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/breatheplastic
Drowning Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/drowningcc